by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Brad Keselowski's Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was one he'd like to forget.

Keselowski was involved in two incidents, including one in which he triggered the "Big One" while running six laps down.

"Hate causing the big one @TalladegaSuperS today," the avid Twitter user tweeted following the race. "Been on the other side of the shoe and it stinks. #MyBad"

On lap 14, Keselowski tried making a bold pass for the lead but cut down on Danica Patrick to bring out the first caution. Patrick had lead a handful of laps in the first dozen circuits around the 2.66-mile track before Keselowski shot through the middle of a three-wide pack to make a play for the lead. But the No. 2 Ford car hadn't totally cleared Patrick's No. 10 Chevrolet and and was spun onto the apron.

Repairs made Keselowski lose six laps to the leaders, but his car was still good enough to run at the front of the pack in an effort to regain some of his laps.

Keselowski had bigger problems on lap 137, where he suddenly spun out and lost control of his car in the middle of traffic â?? and it triggered a 14-car wreck.

Some of the drivers involved in the latter incident were upset Keselowski was being so aggressive despite being multiple laps down. Jeff Gordon said Keselowski was "driving over his head" for several laps before the crash.

Matt Kenseth, who feuded with Keselowski last week at Richmond International Raceway, said Keselowski's aggressive racing was ill-advised.

"If it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him, we'd all be getting lectured," Kenseth said.

Keselowski pointed to Jamie McMurray, who was once six laps down also but got enough free passes to finish only one lap down.

"I wanted to get my laps back and have a shot to win at the end," Keselowski said. "The only way I was gonna do that was by being really aggressive at the front half of the field."

Jimmie Johnson said he wasn't thrilled with Keselowski wrecking the field while so many laps down, but added he understood the 2012 Cup champion's intentions.

"I get it, you're trying to get your laps back," Johnson said.

As for the earlier incident, Keselowski's degree of fault was less clear. Though Kenseth called Keselowski's decision to try and pass Patrick in that manner "mind-boggling," both replays and the drivers weren't certain who was at fault.

Patrick said she was looking in her mirror to see if she had enough room to squeeze in front of Gordon as Keselowski passed her for the lead. The two then made contact and sent Keselowski spinning. Gordon said Patrick "made a mistake" and misjudged Keselowski's position.

"My apologies if that was all my fault," she said afterward. "I mean, shoot, I struggle to take people out and not take myself out - I don't even know how to do it. So that by no means is anything I was trying to do. I'm not out here trying to make enemies, especially on speedways."

The laps led were Patrick's first since she led two in the Daytona 500. Before Sunday, when she started seventh, she had only led seven laps in her Sprint Cup Series career, all at Daytona International Speedway.

In 2013, Patrick made history by becoming the first female to win the pole for the Daytona 500 and lead laps in the race

Keselowski said had hadn't seen a replay but acknowledged making an "aggressive move to take the lead."

"The next thing I knew, I was spinning," he said. "Obviously there was some kind of contact, but I don't know what happened."